Spurs 100
WhinyFatDude(and sidekicks) 83

I feel that Manu is due for a hot shooting game.

You stole my jesus fish…

Manu will go off this game, most definately. Especially when Coach D’oh caves and tries to bring a double over to Timmy. We get them in foul trouble again, and this one is a blow out.

SPURS- 94
hoser and posers- 85

The Spurs must, must, MUST jump on phx fromt the get go this time around. We don’t need a letdown after an emotional victory a la dallas in ‘06.

Tony and Manu: ATTACK-a-snaq. Get this guy on his heels, and pronto. Make s.t.a.t try to play defense—we all know how that’ll end! And, Manu, we will be accepting donations of the 3-ball variety this game…....let ‘em fly, my man!

TIMMY: Just DO WHAT YOU DO! Abuse shaq in the low-post. Get amare in foul trouble. And pause for effect at the 3-point line every now and then, just to make Mikey nervous!

Bruce and Ime: I know you guys excel at defense, but unlike in previous years the Spurs can’t afford to wait until Rd. 2 to crank up the D to “championship” level. Bruce, let Nash know you’re there every time he thinks about driving. Ime, make ‘em think twice about trying that outside jumper.

Finley and Barry: Would it be too much to ask for a modicum of resistance to the offensive machine that is these desert dwellers? Fin, can’t dog you too much when that pull-up is working, but you’ve got to fall back on D if that thing goes cold. Same for you Barry—I know you’ve got range but we can’t affortd to get into a shooting contest with these guys. Play some D, and your 3 will become exponentially more effective. And make your freaking free throws, for crying out loud!

Oberto and Thomas: Keep bruising ‘em down low on D…...and a small contribution to the the Spurs’ Higher Point Totals Program would be greatly appreciated!

Vaughn: (Continue to) Watch and learn

Horry: You’ve got the best seat in the house! lol

GO SPURS GO!!! Beat The HELL Outta phx!! (again!)

SA 100
PH 90

SA 100
PH 92

I really don’t know what to expect. I hope that Manu’s 100% health-wise and can make some of those 3s. I hope Tony does his thing and I hope that Duncan continues to dominate.

Other than that… Go Spurs!

Spurs 95
Suns 94

Big game for Manu.

Latin D, got any info about whether we’ll be able to view this game on channelsurfing.net or one of the others?

Staying in the house to watch the game in case it ends up like the last game where I was alternately jumping around the house yelling and throwing things at my TV and yelling. Just don’t see myself being able to do that at the bar.

Really hoping for the Spurs boost in confidence from the last game combined with slight demoralization of the Suns and the return of Manu to his rightful place of greatness for a convincing win. But as the say you can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up quicker.

Spurs 106
Suns 100

I’m hoping the Spurs blow these dudes out tonight, but I know that’s probably wishful thinking and the only margin that matters at this point is 2-0. So I’ll go with:

Spurs 97
Suns 93

My trip to Champaign is over, so, in the words of the Juggernaut (BITCH!), “I am back, let the rape party begin! Yeeeeeah!” Let’s do this thang.

spurs 102
suns 86

Staves, anybody that is associated with ESPN is rooting for the Suns.

There is definitely a subtle pro-suns attitude on truehoop, I have noticed that as well, well maybe not that subtle

i see what ya’ll are referencing, but i think abbott has relatively upfront and honest about where he’s coming from. he’d like to see the suns advance, but he’s written very positively about the spurs.

Abbott’s a good writer, no doubt. I’m just saying the World Wide Follower wants the Spurs to lose to get higher ratings.

We all know that Phoenix is going to come out hyped up and determined to avenge game 1. Personally, I would love for us to come out and deliberately slow the game down to a halt. I’m talking about walking the ball up the court, cycling the ball around, setting up our offense and waiting to find a good shot in the last 5 seconds of the shot clock. Then relying on our Defense to make the stops and hold these guys to under 90 pts. We need to keep them on the defensive as long as possible. This will keep their numbers down and allow more time for Snaq and Amare to get into foul trouble. Plus, they will find it extremely hard to get into a rhythm with the turtle paced tempo. I’m not sure how many of you guys have played ball, but it is incredibly frustrating when you play a team who constantly holds the ball. You get impatient, irritated and you make stupid mistakes. Let’s be boring!

If the Spurs win tonight, Phoenix is done. If the Suns win, the Spurs still have the advantage (even without homecourt). Nash and D’Antoni know that and they are going to ensure that the Suns give a hell of a fight tonight.

I expect Shaq’s continued whining about game 1’s officiating (with no counters from the cowardly national media) will indeed have an effect. I expect the refs are going to let him get away with murder tonight (more murder than in game 1). He will travel and charge his way to some easy buckets, and I he will get away with more “blocks” like the one he perpetrated on Manu’s head.

Honestly though, Shaq is just not that good at this stage in his career. It is not bad for the Spurs to have him on the floor. He looked good in the regular season against the Spurs, but I am starting to think that Pop played D’Antoni and Shaq for fools. Did Pop just let Shaq have his best nights of the season so that he would be overconfident come playoff time? Does Pop want Shaq on the floor when Phoenix needs a key bucket? Absolutely.

I think that will be the gameplan Money. The Spurs have their most success on offense when they move the ball anyway. Really they just have to play ball, play Spurs ball and play with intelligence and energy. Their pick & roll D has to tighten up. The rotations were awful the other day, so hopefully that will be shored up. This is a must win for the Black & Silver, but I say that for every game.

VWolf, I think you’re probably right, the whiners always tend to have calls go their way at least early on in the game. I want our guys to ignore it and play thru it. I think we can take this game if we don’t lose our focus. And in the playoffs, the Spurs are better than most at not losing their focus. So, I’m hoping…

Spurs 98

WAB’s 91

Looks like Phx is starting Barbosa instead of Hill… I wonder if Hill will play at all with that groin injury.

8:30 PM SA – 10:30 PM ARG

______________

(Sort of) Interesting facts:

► Previous games: They have met 4 times this season.

→ Dic/17/07 - PHX 100 | SA 95 -  SA.<br /> → Jan/31/08 - <b>SA 84</b> | PHX 81 -  Phoenix.
 → Mar/9/08 - PHX 94 | SA 87 -  Phoenix. => With Shaq<br /> → Apr/9/07 - <b>PHX 96</b> | SA 79 -  SA. => With Shaq

► The Spurs shot 38% FG in the first half last Saturday. In the second half, however, they shot 58% from the field, including 5 triples, and won the rebounds battle 25-18.

► The Spurs’s Big Three (Duncan+Parker+Ginóbili) made 90 of the 117 points, which would be 77% of the points. Not only that, but they also dished out 15 out of the 15 assists the Spurs had in the entire game.

► Manu comes from 5 consecutive games without making a 3 pointer, adding a sorry 0/16. The last 3 pointer he made was on April 1st against the GS Warriors.

► Parker, who hit his head badly in the first quarter of the game, said he was feeling “just fine” on Monday afternoon.

► Grant Hill, who’s recovering from a groin injury, said he would be 100% healthy by today. He has been removed from the starting lineup, though.

► The Suns have the best 3pt percentage in the league with 39.3% and the 3rd best percentage from the FT line with 78.3%. Los Suns also lead in assists with 26.68 per game.

► For my fellow Manu homers, here are his numbers against the Suns:

______________

(Likely) Starting lineup:

______________

Quotes alter the 1-0:

► Duncan:
→ “I don’t believe there’s going to be a whole lot of 3-point shooting [from me]. I’m happy that that one went down but I’m not going to rest anything on that.”
→ “We won in double overtime on our home court, so we’re not too confident.”
→ “After 51 minutes I need about four days off but it’s great that we’re not just playing on one day’s rest.”

► Pop:
→ “We were fortunate in the first game. That’s gone and now it’s Game 2.”

► Mike D’Antoni:
→ “Every game is an adventure in itself.”

______________

Interviews with the players:

Spurs:

Manu

Parker

Finley

Bowen

Barry

Thomas

Suns:

Nash

Shaq

Stoudemire

______________

Transmissions:

No NBA League Pass broadcast for this one. TNT will have it, but the channel WMOE1 will probably show the game. To watch this channel you need:

→ Internet Explorer
 → Sopcast

To tune into it: enter the STOOGETV site, go with your mouse to the WMOE button on the left-hand menu, and then click on WMOE1.

XS SPORTS will also broadcast the game, it seems. Check below for the links:

...And if there’s no other choice:

You’ve out done yourself.

10 minutes before tip. Let’s do this!

LD, I’ve already given you three kidneys (two from me, one from a drifter), my firstborn, and naming rights to my next two hip-hop/bluegrass albums; I have nothing else to give.

You’re DEFINATELY out done yourself now. Apparently like our own Timmy D, you bring your A++ game for the postseason. Thanks bro, good prep work.

BRING IT ON!!! Game 2, ladies and germs…... here we go. See you guys after the game for my customary cynicisms. GO SPURS GO…..GO SPURS GO… GO SPURS GOOOOO!!!!

(I’m so freakin’ hyped for this game right now that if I drank a Mountain Dew, my heart would explode.)

i’m so happy tnt is giving us these last few minutes of the no/dal game.

Isn’t it nice to enjoy the Mavs on the short end of a blowout? Guess it’s fine as long as we’re not missing any Suns/Spurs.

I love watching the Mavs lose. I’m still bitter bout that game 7. HERE WE GO!

Sure is nice to hear the announcer say, ”... against the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs!”

there we go tim

amare first foul!

amare is the dumbest person in the nba.

nice flop snaq

uh oh 7-2 not again fellas we can’t do this 2 games in a row

sigh…..

Paging Manu Ginobili. Could a Manu Ginobili come to the phone please?

I think we need a more vigorous warmup it always takes us two quarters to get loose… maybe a mandatory triathalon before every game

are they talking about an injury to Grant Hill—no way. he’s the Cal Ripken of the NBA!

it’s true—nash just doesn’t seem to miss

who’s that half-faced with Pierce in the commercial?

We need to attack the basket…thank you tim

wow—amare’s dunk was nasty

wow the human layup drill at it again

man, TP just goes BY guys

sick, you see how fast parker is!?

Kurt needs to hit that pull up J. And why are we allowing the low entry pass to Shaq?!

that’s a new defense against Amare—fall down and make him rush his shot

Who’s the Tall PG bringin’ the rock up court? Feedin to the small dude under the hoop? hehe

ok kurt needs to stop shooting for a bit

ugh… we hit these short jumpers were up by 4 at least

Fast break and Bruce takes a jumper from 20 feet out. Fuckin’ a.

nice. single digit score past the 6 min mark of the 1st quarter again!